Chapter 2, The Experience of Religious Mystery Summary and Analysis

Mystical traditions west and east of Iran are radically different. Western religions (Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) hail from the Middle East and insist that God and the world are not the same. These religions seek to submit human judgment to God's power. An intermediate institution is needed: for Jews, a covenant; for Christians, a mystical union of divine and human natures. Western religious culture is fragmented, causing alienation and estrangement.

Mythology's religious function is to awaken awe, humility, and respect for mysteries. By explaining "facts," scholars miss "the ineffable." The Brahmims' "tat tvam asi" ("that is you") says one lives a whole existence but cannot survey it at a glance. Such metaphysics are possible when the "masks of God" fall away. No categories can be attributed to a "Ground of...